Enter the Dragonfly

Humarock resident Emma Spencer has spent the past 10 years learning everything there is to learn about yoga.

Mark Gardner

Humarock resident Emma Spencer has spent the past 10 years learning everything there is to learn about yoga.

She has taken and taught classes at studios and gyms around the South Shore, and finally decided it was time to go it alone.

Spencer took her time choosing the right place for her project before finally stumbling upon “The Freight House” on Webster Street in Marshfield. The building, which is owned by Brian Taylor of Stenbeck and Taylor, has been restored over the past few years and now holds several businesses including Spencer’s new venture, Dragonfly Studios.

“I just wanted a name that represented what I was passionate about, and anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with dragonflies,” Spencer said.

Dragonfly Studios will be having an open house this Friday, May 18, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be opening for business Saturday, June 2.

Spencer started practicing yoga more than 10 years ago when she joined her then-husband at a class in the town hall of the rural English village of Bovingdon.

“I was just there to support him really, but I fell in love with it right away,” she said.

The teacher of that first class, Margaret Horwood, remains one of Spencer’s biggest inspirations.

“She did a soulful kind of yoga, something that’s really lacking in a lot of classes these days” she said. “It was gentle, challenging and yet invigorating all at the same time, and in a wonderful English village setting”.

After moving to the United States, Spencer sought out new classes and spent several years studying with another strong influence, Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, who teaches at the Workout Club in Marshfield Center. Spencer was encouraged by Bacon-Bernstein and others to become a yoga teacher and began the process of certification.

Spencer spent two months at the Kripalu Center in the Berkshires, and also spent time doing one-on-one training with another huge influence, Siri Khalsa.

“She helped me find my confidence,” Spencer said.

Spencer has returned to Kripalu many times since, including trips to attend workshops by nationally acclaimed yoga teachers Baron Baptiste and Shiva Rea.

Spencer, also a qualified massage therapist, began teaching yoga classes all around the South Shore, and although she learned a great deal, never quite found a location that truly suited her.

“Gyms and other studios often can’t recreate the atmosphere that’s necessary,” she said. “I’ve taught at many gyms — I’m certainly not a yoga snob and I think that if you have the right teacher, they will be able to teach anywhere — but gyms can be challenging environments to teach in, and to be able to walk into a place that is totally dedicated to the practice of yoga can be hugely beneficial.”

Spencer hopes to demystify yoga and that her studio will be a welcoming place to men and women, children and retirees alike.

“I like to think that we have a wonderful variety of classes on offer to the public “ she said.

According to Spencer, classes will include chill yoga, which will appeal to beginners and advanced students alike; intermediate yoga; powerflow yoga; yoga for children; and one of Spencer’s new challenges, what she describes as “yoga for dudes.”

“Guys tend to think of yoga as a girlie activity,” Spencer said with a smile. “My hope is that I can change that perception.”

Spencer hopes to attract men, athletes in particular, to her classes by concentrating on the benefits that yoga can bring to them, such as increased flexibility, learning the art of breathing and for high school athletes, the chance to stave off injuries.

“Guys shouldn’t be put off by their lack of flexibility. Yoga can really help with tight hamstrings and hips,” Spencer said. “It helps with balance and coordination, breath work and their overall well-being.”

But for Spencer, yoga isn’t just for adults and teenagers. She is planning on running classes for children 3 to 7 years old, as well.

“It’s not just the kids that are benefiting from the yoga class; the parents can as well,” she said. “For the kids, it’s an opportunity to totally self-express and run crazy, but within the disciplined environment of yoga, and for the parents, it’s a chance for an hour’s break!”

Spencer added that yoga can help children to relax and use the techniques learned during class in real-world situations such as school. According to Spencer, it can also be beneficial to kids with attention-deficit disorder and similar conditions.

Spencer will be surrounded by teachers who have inspired her since her move to the United States from England seven years ago.

“I plan on having six or seven teachers to help with the class schedule,” she said, “I’ve taken classes over the years with teachers that have so inspired me that they have helped me to continue growing as a student of yoga and as a person, and I am really thrilled to say that many of them will be working alongside me at my studio starting next month.”

Spencer is hoping to pull from towns around the South Shore and said she is looking forward to seeing old friends as well as new faces.

“No one who walks through our doors should feel that they need to be competitive, that they need to feel insecure, nervous or intimidated,” she said. “There are so many classes to appeal to everyone’s levels of fitness and flexibility. And we have a wonderful group of teachers with varying styles to choose from.”

Spencer said she was once the girl who didn’t believe yoga would be for her, but that it has changed her life “in every single way.”

“It’s something that can appeal to everyone,” she said. “All you need is a good sense of humor, a mat, and your willingness to learn.”